Chile

The European Space Agency is testing the new generation of space buggies, bound for Mars, in the Atacama desert in Chile. The world's driest desert is Earth's most Mars-like environment, with its vast salt flats and coloured lagoons. It is also the site of the biggest radioastronomical observatory in the world, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (almaobservatory.org), a $550m project due for completion next year. A visitors' centre is expected to open in 2013.

For now, the desert is still one of the best places in the world to stargaze. Buses run from Santiago to the hub village of San Pedro de Atacama, where tours into the desert can be booked, and there is a choice of amazing lodges. Atacama Lodge (spaceobs.com) has star tours and telescopes.

Colombia

The website Morelocal.co (morelocal.co/experiences/quindio) has some brilliant experiences and homestays where you can meet locals and try activities not offered by big tour operators, such as trips of a few days touring agroturismos in the coffee plantations, one of Colombia's top draws. A two-day trip from Bogotá to the Altiplano to meet campesinos, attend a wool-making workshop, visit an organic farm and play tejo, the national game, costs $499pp including accommodation and some meals.

Increasing numbers of travellers are choosing to explore Colombia by bike – a good way to see a lot while staying connected with your surroundings. British operator Saddle Skeddadle has (0191 265 1110, skedaddle.co.uk) a 14-day road cycling trip for £1,885pp, next departing 25 January, excluding flights.

For mountain biking try Colombia Bike Junkies (colombianbikejunkies.com/) which has day trips and multi-day tours of the north east's hilly San Gil area, also good for rafting, staying at inns, enjoying coffee, unusual fruits and barbecues on the way. It can also add extensions to the Caribbean coast.

Brazil

D.O.M (domrestaurante.com) in São Paulo is quietly doing for Brazilian food what Noma did for Danish. It was fourth in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list (theworlds50best.com) this year (up three places), and was also named the best restaurant in South America. Chef-patron Alex Atala heads deep into the Amazon to forage for ingredients among tribes who have used them for centuries. Other unmissable São Paulo restaurants include Mocotó, Mani and Epice, all recommended by Atala himself.

A new website will help football fans plan their 2014 World Cup trip. Go to worldcuptheguide.com for tips on getting there and getting around. Sister site Brazil the Guide (braziltheguide.com) has handy overviews of major cities and regions.

Peru

Boca Manu airport in Peru has reopened, making it much easier to reach the country's biggest national park, Manu, previously accessed only by a long, slow journey overland on poor roads followed by a boat trip. The Crees Foundation (crees-manu.org), a rainforest research and education centre, hopes the park will now become a leading sustainable rainforest destination. A seven-day tour costs £709pp; flights from Heathrow to Cusco (where the tour picks up) cost from £994.

A controversial new airport is being planned near Machu Picchu and the city of Cusco. President Humala said last month that the current Cusco airport was too small, and that a $460m investment in a new one would help to boost tourism. However, conservationists worry the area already receives too many visitors – around 3,000 tourists visit Cusco each day, and numbers visiting Machu Picchu are limited to 2,500 a day.

A new tool on tour operator Tucan Travel's website (tucantravel.com)shows how far in advance visitors planning to trek the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu need to book a permit. Only 500 are issued a day and they often sell out months in advance. The online calendar shows how many permits are still available for given dates and also has lots of tips.

About 40km south-east of Lima, Pachacamac is another stop on the Inca trail. Archaeologists discovered the biggest tomb to date there earlier this year, containing 80 bodies within a ring of babies. The mummified bodies were buried 1,000 years ago with wooden "heads", and are thought to be diseased pilgrims drawn to the religious site in the hope of a miracle.

Ecuador

Finch Bay Hotel, Puerto Ayora, Ecuador PR

A hotel in Puerto Ayora, the main town on Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands, has been named South America's leading green hotel at the World Travel Awards. The Finch Bay Eco Hotel employs a wide range of energy-saving, waste-disposal and recycling measures, grows its own organic fruit and vegetables, and keeps the local beaches clean. It recently planted 500 button mangroves to help rebalance the island's threatened ecosystem. A three-night stay at the hotel costs from £879pp (finchbayhotel.com).

Guyana

If you become one of the 2,500 visitors a year who make it to Guyana, the small northern country that is 80% rainforest, wildlife spotting (to see giant river otters, jaguars, black caiman, giant anteaters and incredible birds) is likely to top your list. Guyana's ecotourism industry is developing well. Most ecolodges are in the Rupununi region, and the Surama Eco-Lodge (suramaecolodge.com), with little thatched cabins, is a gateway to the Pakaraima mountains and Burro Burro river, great for hiking and canoeing, craft classes or a jungle survival experience. A two-day sampler trip costs from $148pp. Or try Caiman House (wilderness-explorers.com/guyana/caimanhouse.html), a guesthouse-cum-education centre with four guest rooms ($95 full-board) and excursions to see animals and local craftspeople. See guyana-tourism.com for a list of operators.

Paraguay

Although one of Paraguay's fastest-growing tourist activities is pigeon shooting, we wouldn't recommend that here. Instead, go wildlife spotting by boat with Paraguayan Adventures (paraguay.ch/adventure_rioparaguay.html) in El Roble, where you can stay in wooden cabins and take birdwatching and kayaking trips. It has a new 10-15-day kayak trip from Bahia Negra to Concepción, 550km on the Paraguay river, that will also immerse you in the country's incredible wildlife. On the way you'll hear pumas, eat fish from the river, and watch caiman and giant storks. The trip costs $1,100 for two, including food and equipment, or just camp at El Roble from $10 ($20 for a cabin) a day and rent kayaks (from $20 for three/four hours).

Staying in one of the flagship hotels within Patagonia's Torres del Paine national park is eye-wateringly expensive – but nearby Puerto Natales has a range of more affordable boltholes, writes Sarah Gilbert

From the sandy white shores of the Amazon river and all the way south down the tropical, 4,650-mile coastline to the border with Uruguay, Brazil has some of the world's finest beaches. Here's our pick of some of the very best, from party towns to wilderness spots